Luke Introduction

Luke Introduction:

Luke was probably the third gospel written, and is currently the 3rd most popular with Matthew leading, then John, and Luke (sorry Mark!!)

None of the Gospels name their authors in the text, all of our titles come from Greek manuscripts and early writers who quote from them.

The Gospels NEVER circulated under any other names (ex. Matthew’s Gospel was never attributed to anyone except Matthew.

Luke also names his addressee, Theophilus (Luke 1:3.

We know very little about Luke with only 3 verses in the New Testament directly mentioning him

He was with Paul in both of his imprisonments and trials at Rome

Colossians 4:14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

2 Timothy 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.

Philemon 23-24 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

Luke is the only non Jewish author of the whole Bible (Col 4:11, 14), he is noted separate and apart from those "of the circumcision."

He is also responsible for more of the New Testament than other other writer, with 28% of the total word count

There are about 50 words not found elsewhere in the New Testaments except for Luke and Acts

Luke differs from Matthew and Mark in that his sentence structure is more elaborate and his style of composition is more finished.

Mark uses about 1200 different Greek words, Matthew 1500, and Luke 1800

Matthew uses 18,370 words; Mark, 10,981; and Luke, 19,496.

The number of different Greek words used by Matthew but not found in Mark or Luke is 243; the number used by Mark but not in Matthew or Luke is 174, while the number used by Luke but not in Matthew or Mark is 614.

This shows the fullness of the vocabulary of Luke and his intelligent mind, no wonder God specifically chose this man to write of the good new of Jesus Christ.

There are about 200 expressions similar in Paul and Luke’s writing which would make sense because Paul would mention Luke as his fellow worker and “the beloved physician” Col 4:14

Luke’s writing style is clear and picturesque

Luke’s Gospel contains the most material about Jesus and the most words of the Gospel accounts

Luke also contains the two most popular parables: the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.

It is also Luke who gives us the only canonical story of Jesus’ adolescent years, and Luke is the only Gospel that narrates the Ascension.

If you want to find out what Jesus said about prayer, money, sin, and reaching sinners, then your best Gospel to turn to is Luke

Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist, Matthew begins with the birth of Jesus, Luke begins even further back with the birth of John the Baptist, and John begins before creation, identifying the 2nd Person of the Godhead as the eternal Word of God

Mark gives us a snapshot, Matthew gave us a water color, but Luke gave us an oil painting.

Luke’s Gospel gives us about 33 years of history from the birth of Christ until His Ascension

Luke is so accurate that he even pinpoints the time in which he wrote, opening himself up to textual criticism, ensuring that what he wrote was historically accurate.

Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

Cyrenius was governor twice, once in 4 BC and once in AD 6. Jesus was born during the time of Herod (Matthew 2) and Herod died in 4 BC, so we know that Luke was accurate to date Jesus’ birth at 4 BC

There was a census taken every 14 years in the Ancient near East, there was one taken in 4 BC

The Bible is correct, and we do not need all of this evidence to prove that, but it is interesting how science will always reveal what the Bible has already decreed.

The Time in which Luke wrote

Written before the book of Acts, cf Acts 1:1 “THE former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,”

Acts was written around the time Paul was in Rome (Paul was in Rome in AD 60)

So Luke wrote between the 23 years after the crucifixion